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Research activities at AUD is mostly applied in nature, and is conducted through partnerships between the AUD faculty on one hand, and various industry, government, and international partners on the other hand. The School of Engineering faculty members boast a strong record of publications in refereed journals and international conference, and are at the forefront of local and regional research activities. Our strategic objective is to conduct research that is relevant to the local and regional communities and at the same time contibutes to the global scientific community. Below are representative research projects that are underway in the School of Engineering. For more information, please contact the concerned faculty member directly.
Wireless Cooperative Sensor Networks
Dr. Hamid Shafiee is developing practical solutions to signal degradation in digital communication systems. The results of this research are far-reaching in terms of improving the quality of signal transmission and saving battery life in digital communication systems. One problem in wireless communication channels is that, due to reflection and diffraction of the transmitted signal off various objects in the environment, multiple copies of the signal each with a different amplitude, delay and phase shift, are received. This phenomenon, called multipath fading, results in severe degradation of the performance of a digital communication system. The use of diversity is an effective way to minimize fading. Diversity relies on sending the signal on independent communication paths. Of special interest are spatial diversity methods in which signals are transmitted and received by multiple antennas. In the case of mobile phones, diversity can be achieved by utilizing various terminals to form a virtual antenna array. The use of relay terminals helps to transmit information from a source node to its destination over several routes. This strategy is especially important in sensor networks where the transmission power for each station has to be kept to a minimum to save battery life. Environmental Effects on PV Cells
Dr. Lana Chaar and her research group are examining ways to improve the performance of PV solar arrays in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a diligent contender in the pursuit of renewable energy due to its climatic and geographic conditions. There are on average eight hours of sunlight per day during winter and eleven hours per day during summer, in addition to the vast land space which can accommodate large solar panels. However, one main problem stems from the use of PV cells in climatic conditions such as the UAE which experiences continuous high temperatures alongside the occasional strong winds resulting in perpetual sandstorms. The effect of very little rainfall, high humidity, and sandstorms helps wind-borne particles to accumulate on the surface of PV arrays, thereby affecting the overall efficiency of the solar panels. Dr. Chaar's research studies these effects, and provides mathematical simulation models. Students are developing practical solutions to reduce the problems PV might face when used in the Gulf region. A robotic cleaning systems was developed as part of the research. A high efficiency solar-powered traffic light control prototype was designed and built. Strength and Deformation Response of Calcareous Sand
Calcareous sand is abundant in the Gulf region and is used for construction of reclaimed land off the shore of Dubai. Dr. Alaa Ashmawy and his research group are examining the effect of shape and angularity of highly angular calcareous sand on the mechanical response using Discrete Element Methods (DEM). One limitation of currently-available DEM software is its inability to model irregular particle shapes. To this end, angular particle tranformation algorithms have been developed to reconstruct each particle into clumps of spherical elements for use in DEM models. In addition, Dr. Ashmawy is conducting collaborative research with the University of Michigan and Keller Grundbau to examine the in-situ shear strength of calcareous sand deposits using CPT. |
